1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a V-type engine including a first bank and a second bank which are disposed in a V-shape on opposite sides of a vertical line passing through the center of a crankshaft carried in a crankcase, the banks being formed continuously with the crankcase, and a first piston and a second piston which are fitted in cylinder blocks of the first and second banks, respectively and which are connected to a common crank pin of the crankshaft through first and second connecting rods, respectively.
2. Desription of the Related Art
Such V-type engines are known, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.61-291734.
Such V-type engine is effective to suppress the entire height of the engine to a low level, while permitting the number of cylinders to be increased by virtue of the inclined attitude of each of the banks, but if the lower portion of the crankcase can be formed at a small depth, the entire height of the engine can be further lowered.
However, a defined amount of oil corresponding to the capacity of the engine is generally stored in the lower portion of the crankcase. For this reason, there is a certain limit to forming the lower portion of the crankcase at a small depth. Especially, when it is desired that the surface of the oil does not contact with a large end of the connecting rod in order to eliminate the loss of power due to the agitation of the oil during rotation of the engine, it is further difficult to decrease the depth of the lower portion of the crankcase.